Holding device



Aug. 25, 1964 FIG. 2

C. D. LITWILLER HOLDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 26, 1962 FIG. 5

FARMER STANDS HERE IN VEN TOR.

CAROL D. LITWILL ER wA-KM United States Patent ()flce 3,145,692 HOLDING DEVICE Carol D. Litwiller, R.F.D. 2, Delavan, Ill. Filed Dec. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 247,234 6 Claims. (Cl. 119-103) This invention relates to a holding device, especially to an animal holding device which will allow one man to perform an operation on a live animal which with conventional devices requires two men, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which is simple and reliable in operation.

The trend in agriculture is toward ever larger farms, with increasing mechanization of farming operations. The machinery required makes a one-man farm increasingly more difficult to maintain, and this problem is aggravated by the need for two men to do some jobs. The small farmer needs more inexpensive and simpler equipment which enables him to do his various jobs or chores without outside help.

An example is the farmer who raises hogs for the market. To make such an operation profitable in the face of ever-increasing taxes and higher prices for items the farmer buys, the hog raiser must run a big operation, in which he himself, without help or with a bare minimum of help, manages a very large number of head of hogs. When the time comes to castrate the young males, the farmer wants to be able to do the job himself at his own convenience, without having to await the convenience of hired labor or the exchange of help with a neighbor.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a holding device for live animals, such as hogs, which is simple, inexpensive, and reliable, and which allows one man to Work on, or perform an operation on, the animal Without outside help. This and other objects are accomplished in a holder which clamps and holds the animal in a position such that the animal cannot struggle free, while the portions of the animals anatomy are exposed and readily accessible for whatever must be done.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, with parts broken away and in section, to show details.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of a fixture to provide a pivot axis on a much larger scale than FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlargement of one end of the tension device to which the leg holding loop is secured.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail of the leg holding loop at the end of the animal-engaging portion; and

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the device in operation, on a smaller scale than FIG. 1.

The basic element of the invention is a two-ended, elongated, bent clamp, generally in the shape of a C. Pivot-providing means between the ends permit mounting of the clamp on a bracket secured to a work-table. More specifically, a clamp 2, having ends 4 and 6, and in the general shape of a C has pivot-providing means 8 secured in any suitable manner between the ends 4 and 6 and inside the C. The element 8 may conveniently be a strip of steel plate one-fourth inch thick, one inch wide, and of such a length as to offer a choice of openings 10 to allow adjustment of the device to hogs of varying sizes.

In a preferred form of the invention, C-shaped clamp 2 is a piece of one-half /2) inch pipe. At its lower end, a short (1 inch) length of pipe 12 may be welded across the main length of pipe to provide a smooth and rounded edge for movement in and out of a tension device 14. At its upper end 4, the clamp is provided with a loop tightener 16 which in a preferred form consists of two strips 18 and 20 of wrought iron straps one- 3,145,692 Patented Aug. 25, 1964 fourth 4) inch thick and one and one-half (1 /2) inches wide. At the extreme left end as seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the inner surfaces at the ends are rounded and slightly farther apart.

The holding device is adapted to be secured to a work table 22, which may be a two (2) inch plank of any desired width held at a suitable height by means not shown. A pivot bracket 24 may be formed, for example, of a three-sixteenth 7 inch thick strip of wrought iron, two inches wide and bent at right angles at one end to form a flange as shown at 26. Suitable holes 28 are provided to receive spikes or screws to fasten the bracket 24 to the work table. Two pieces or fingers 30 and 32 of angle iron, /2 inch x 1 inch X A inch, of a suitable length are welded to the flange 26 substantially at right angles thereto, and are drilled as shown at 34 to receive a pivot pin which may be a bolt 36 having a head 38 at one end and being threaded at its other end to receive a wing nut 40.

The bolt is passed through a selected one of holes 10 in element 8 and through the openings 34 in fingers 30 and 32, so that clamp 2 assumes a position substantially as shown in FIG. 1. In this position, the animal-engaging portion which includes end 4 largely' overhangs the work table 22, and the lever portion which includes end 6 underhangs the table. As is evident from FIG. 1, the animal-engaging portion and the lever portion are on the same side of a vertical plane X-X through the pivot axis provided by bolt 36. In this arrangement, a downward pull on end 6 serves to rotate the clamp 2 counterclockwise about its pivot, thus bringing the animal-engaging portion closer to the upper surface of table 22.

The downward pull referred to is provided by a tension device which is preferably movable relative to the clamp along a path defined by guide means associated or integral with the clamp. In the preferred embodiment here shown, the clamp is made of a piece of pipe as aforesaid, and the tension device is made to pass through the pipe, whereby the pipe serves as the guide means referred to. More specifically, a cable is passed through the pipe and carries a leg-holding loop 44 overhanging the table 22 and a stirrup 46 underhanging the table. Loop 44 may be a conventional leather strap and buckle, and the strap is passed through an eye 48 secured to the upper end of the cable.

Operation The farmer, assumed to be right-handed, grasps the hog and lays him on the table on his left side and with the hogs head to the farmers left, in which position the hogs back is closest to the farmer, who faces toward the top of the sheet, in the direction of arrow F, FIG. 5. A left-hander would place the hog on his right side, and with the head on the right.

The hogs right hind leg is held securely out of the way by passing the hogs foot through the leg-holding device, namely through the loop 44. With a foot in the stirrup 46, the farmer bears down on the stirrup and draws the cable downward through the pipe. At the upper end 4, the cable pulls loop 44 toward the pipe and into the loop tightener 16. This tightens the hold on the hogs foot. As soon as all the slack is out of the loop 44, the clamp pivots counterclockwise about bolt 36 because end 6, on which the cable pull acts, is to the left of the pivot. This brings the animal-engaging portion down until it tightly engages the hog. The farmer holds the hog tight with foot pressure while he has both hands free to perform the required operation.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention provides a simple, inexpensive holding device by which one man easily controls a hog while he works on the hogs hind quarters. apparent to hog raisers.

While there is in this application specifically described one form which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown for purposes of illustration and that the invention may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An animal holding device comprising: a clamp having pivot-providing means adapted to be secured to a work table, an animal-engaging portion adapted to overhang said table, a lever portion adapted to underhang the table, and guide means; a tension device movable relative to the clamp along a path defined by the guide means; legholding means secured to the tension device in a position overhanging the table and supported by the animal-engaging portion; and an operator-operable control device secured to the tension device.

2. An animal holding device comprising: a two-ended elongated bent clamp having pivot-providing means intermediate its ends and adapted to be secured to a work table, an animal-engaging portion adapted to overhang said table and including one end of the clamp, a lever portion adapted to underhang the table and including the other end of the clamp, and guide means including a loop tightener adjacent the overhanging end; a tension device movable relative to the clamp along a path defined by the guide means; a leg-holding loop secured to the tension device in a position overhanging the table and supported by the animal-engaging portion and adapted to engage the loop tightener; and an operator-operable control device secured to the tension device.

3. An animal holding device comprising: a C-shaped pipe having pivot-providing means intermediate its ends adapted to be secured to a work table with one end of the C overhanging the table and the other end of the C underhanging the table; a tension device in the pipe and movable relative thereto; leg-holding means secured to the tension device in a position overhanging the table and supported by the first-named end of the C; and an operatoroperable device secured to the tension device below the second-named end of the C.

4. An animal holding device comprising: a C-shaped Other advantages will be pipe having pivot-providing means intermediate its ends adapted to be secured to a work table with one end of the C overhanging the table and the other end of the C underhanging the table, and a loop tightener secured to the overhanging end of the C; a tension device in the pipe and movable lengthwise of the pipe; a leg-holding loop secured to the tension device at the overhanging end of the C and engageable by the loop tightener by movement of the tension device in one direction; and operator-operable means secured to the tension device below the underhanging end of the C.

5. An animal holding device comprising: a C-shaped pipe having pivot-providing means intermediate its ends adapted to be secured to a work table with one end of the C overhanging the table and the other end of the C underhanging the table so that both ends of the C are on one side of a vertical plane passing through the pivot axis; a tension device in the pipe and movable relative thereto; leg-holding means secured to the tension device in a position overhanging the table and supported by the firstnamed end of the C; and an operator-operable device secured to the tension device below the second-named end of the C.

6. An animal holding device comprising: a two-ended elongated bent clamp having pivot-providing means intermediate its ends and adapted to be secured to a work table, an animal-engaging portion adapted to overhang said table and including one end of the clamp, a lever portion adapted to underhang the table and including the other end of the clamp, both of said clamp ends being on one side of a vertical plane through the pivot axis, and guide means including a loop tightener adjacent the overhanging end; a tension device movable relative to the clamp along a path defined by the guide means; a legholding loop secured to the tension device in a position overhanging the table and supported by the animal-engaging portion and adapted to engage the loop tightener; and an operator-operable control device secured to the tension device.

Johnson et al. Aug. 8, 1950 Scott et a1. Dec. 20, 1960 

1. AN ANIMAL HOLDING DEVICE COMPRISING: A CLAMP HAVING PIVOT-PROVIDING MEANS ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO A WORK TABLE, AN ANIMAL-ENGAGING PORTION ADAPTED TO OVERHANG SAID TABLE, A LEVER PORTION ADAPTED TO UNDERHANG THE TABLE, AND GUIDE MEANS; A TENSION DEVICE MOVABLE RELATIVE TO THE CLAMP ALONG A PATH DEFINED BY THE GUIDE MEANS; LEG- 